During the recent Pascal Vigil, Father Vimanphet, the parish priest baptized a group of catechumens, administered Confirmation, and presided over marriage at Ban Nam Yam a small Hmong village in Laos.
On April 17, during a moving Paschal Vigil, there was a celebration at Ban Nam Yam, 65 km South-East of Vientiane, in Laos.
The Hmong community welcomed a group of new Catholics and, at the same time, the main celebrant administered other Sacraments to those who joined catechism.
The celebration was the result of a long and patient work of the catechists that for many years formed the catechumens and the faithful to faith.
Laos is still a communist country and religious freedom is not a priority for the government.
In many places of the country, religious gatherings undergo strict regulation that limits attendance.
At the central level government affirm the equality of all the citizens, but Christians and Catholics are still discriminated against and, sometimes, persecuted by local authorities.
Hmong people are viewed with suspicion because of their different traditions and culture, and especially because they do not always fit the rules and the policy of the Laotian government.
For many years the small Catholic community of Ban Nam Yam had to keep a low profile, but finally, they were granted to build a new church. This dream becomes a reality, thanks to the Hmong people of the diaspora.
In the USA, the Hmong community found the money to help their Laotian brothers. On the other hand, the catechists at the village continued to teach catechism, and administer sacraments in order to keep the Catholic values of the Gospel alive in the heart of the faithful.
Two catechists from Nam Yam village joined the RVA formation session at the Good Shepherd Center in Lomsak.
They said, “We come from a small Hmong village, we have been doing our best to serve our community, where we feel that we are part of a bigger reality of the church. We feel that we are brothers and sisters. We hope you do not forget us and we ask you to keep in touch with us. With the people of our community, we can continue to live with enthusiasm our faith.”
An important moment of their pilgrimage of faith was January 11, 2022, when the new church entitled to the Blessed Paulo Thosong was consecrated by Vientiane Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun.
“For us,” said Xib Hwb Tswb Tsab, a catechist, “is a new start, this church is a sign that confirms that our work, in past years, was not in vain, and, at the same time, it’s a reason for hope because from here a new generation of Hmong catechists can start a fruitful work of evangelization in Laos.”
The first missionaries arrived at Ban Nam Yam in 1963. Since that time, the communities never stop to grow; now there are 248 Catholics.
About 50 families, and during the Paschal Vigil nine women and one man received baptism, 15 received the Sacrament of Confirmation, and eight couples received the sacrament of marriage.
The experience of the small Catholic community of Ban Nam Yam is a sign of time for the Universal Church because persecution does not always erase the small Catholic communities, but often it makes them stronger and able to grow. - With inputs by Rodighiero Domenico, Laos
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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